Water level indicator for internal combustion engines



March 8, 1932. (5y B. HAYES ET AL WATER LEVEL INDICATOR FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed June 24, 1929 gmmwtou 607176 25. flayed, 4721?! J. flaZZay. 5% 1 Patented Man; 932' UNITED STATE PATENT io EICE GEORGE B. HAY S Am) DANIEL L; MALLOY,-F DEivvER, ooLoEADo I wArEn-IEvEnIm IoA'ronronflmrnnivan conisusrxon ENGINESw Application med June 24,}1929.v Serial 1194373371.

This invention relates to improvements in water level indicatorsfor use with'automw biles. i j

j Internal "combustion engines of the typ 1 employed.with'autoinobiles are usually water cooledQandfifoifthis purpose are provided with weat jacket that is connected with a radiator, The radiator must bekept'praotically fullof water so as to assure a constant I a removable cylinder head2, and

' circulation of water through the waterfjacket;

It 1s quite necessary for the driver of an automobile to. beadvised as to the condition of,

his water supply, and unless the radiator is provided with some water level indicator, the; n V v v that surrounds theengine and'which has:

only way in which the leveliof. the water can be ascertained, 1s by removing the radiator cap, which necessitates considerable etiort and makes it necessary forthe driver; to de:

sce-ndirom the car. V n I It is the object of this invention toproduce a water levelindicator that can be located on the instrument board ofea-n automobil'e and which will beivisible at all ti-mes from the drivers seat. By, the use' of awaterlevel in- 'dicator located inthe manner pointed out,-

the driver can always see the condition of his water supply before starting out in the morning and at anytime during the dayi One of theobjectsjof this inventionis to an arrangementof partsthat will nowbe,

described in detail, reference for this pnrpose being had .to the accompanying draw ings in which the preferred embodiment of the invention hasbeen illustrated, and in which; Y

Fig.1 is a longitudinal: vertical section through an engine hood of an automobile showing-the improved water level indicator.

attachedto the engine providea water level indicator consisting'ofa gaugeglass whose lower end is'fconnected withthe water jacket space of'the engine and.

leave the upper end f p n d brass that is cast into the desired shape.

This holder has a body portion' 10 of a'length i Member 10 has an-opening 11 of sufficient size' provided with laterally extending flanges 13" .terior ofthe radiator'with the water jacket been, designated by reference numeral 5.;

The radiator is. provided with an 7 expansion tank 6 at its top; The water level should be" ashigh as possible: and is usually maintained aboutihalf way between the top of the radi 7 0 ator andfithe openingtintogthe connector 4.-

.lVhen the water level fallsbelow the bottom 1 of the expansiontank, there is -danger of overheatingftheengine as the greater por-'v tion of the ;wate'r"is that which is contained in the expansion tank and therefore when the expansion tank is empty, there is not su'fii cient; water for eflicient cooling.

' In orderto make it possible for the driver to see the levelof the water withoutremoving the radiator capq'l', a gauge glass 8 has been arranged inan opening in the instru-; mentboard 9. Thegauge glass is secured in a holder which is preferably formed from somewhat greater than themaximum of water level variation that, is permissible and may be approximately sixanches in length,

to receivethe gauge glass 8 and is provided on one side with a slot 12 through which the gauge glass may be seen ;Member 10 isalso that are perforated for the reception of bolts; 14: by means of which the assembly is secured to the instrument board 9. The instrument;

board is provided with a slot 15 of such width that the member 10 can beinserted therein in r the manner'shown. The lower end of opening 11 is threaded as indicated by numeral 16 and a threaded nipple 17 cooperates with the threaded section 16 for holding the gauge glass in place. The upper end of the gauge glass is separated from the upper end of opening 11 by means of a washer 18 while another washer separates the end of the nipple 17 from the lower end of the glass gauge and when the nipple is tightened, it forms a seal between the ends of the gauge and the holder. The upper end of member 10 is provided with a small opening 19 that connects the interior of the gauge glass with theoverflow or drain.

opening 20. Opening 19 should be made very small so as to serve as a choke which will permit air to enter and leave the gauge glass but which will restrict the floW of water and thus limit the amount of water that can escape to a negligible quantity. The upper end of opening 20 is threaded for the reception of the threaded end of a hollow plug 21. The upper end of plug 21 has a vent 22. A pipe 23 is connected with the interior of the bushing 17 by means of a suitable fitting such, for example, as the L 24 that is shown in the drawings. Pipe 23 extends through the dashboard and is connected with the water jacket space by means of an L 25. A stop cock 26 is provided in pipe 23 for the purpose of closing the opening through this pipe if occasion should ever require. 4 A small flexible copper tube 27 is connected with the lower end of thedrain opening 20 and extends through an opening in the dash and thencedownwardly a short distance. It is evident that opening 20 does not necessarily have to extend all the way to the bottom of the gauge as shown in the drawing, but can terminate any distance below the, choke 19 but in either case tube 27 a is connected with its lower end as shown.

With the parts constructed in the manner shown and connected with the engine in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1, we will assume that the radiator is filled with water until the level of the water reaches the line indicated by reference numeral 28 in Fig. 2. The in-.

dicator is provided with indicia such as those designated by reference numeral 29 that are associated with lines indicating the full and low level limits of the water. In the event that the water should boil furiously and develop a pressure, it is evident that the pressure of the steam produced would force the water to thetop of the water glass, but since theopening 19 is'made very small, only anegligible amount of water would escape in this manner. The vent 22 is provided for the purpose of preventing the formation of a siphon which might otherwise drain the Water from the engine and radiator.

One of the main problems to be solved in the construction of a water gauge of this kind is to prevent the water from squirting out of the vent into the car body when the machine is started and when it is stopped suddenly so I as to cause the water to surge back and forth in the cooling system. The principal object of the vent 22 is to permit atmospheric pressure to prevail on top of the water in the gauge glass so that the true level of the water in the cooling system will be indicated. The choke opening 19 is to prevent the water from squirting through the vent 22 when the speed of the car it altered suddenly. The vent also prevents the formation of a syphon as above explained while another function of the choke opening is to restrict or limit the loss of water. If thechoke opening 19 were used alone without the vent 22 a syphon would readily form and if the vent opening ing a specific embodiment of this invention has been disclosed, but it is evident that the indicator can be constructed in many difi'erent ways and therefore the embodiment shown'and "described is to be considered as illustrative of the construction and not as.

limiting the invention to any greater extent than made'necessary by the state of the prior art; i

From the above description it willbe apparent that this invention is of such construction that it can be readily applied to any existing automobile and that it can also be used as standard equipment and applied in the factory.

"Although the invention has been described as useful more particularly with automobiles, it is evident that it can also be employed with any combustion engine employing a radiator in combination with the cooling system.

Having described the invention what is claimedas new is:

1. water level indicator for internal combustion engines, comprising, in combination, an elongated body member having an opening extending inwardly from one end thereof, one end of said opening being closed and the other end having a threaded section, anopening of small cross section communicating with the first mentioned opening and extending to the surface of said member and a which forms a choke and an opening venting said second mentioned opening to the atmosphere, a gauge glass located in the first mentioned opening, said glass being shorter than the first mentioned opening, a tubular nipple threadedly connected withthe thread-,

lib

from one end thereof and a slot in the wall of flow pipe connected with the body member and in communication with the interior of the gauge glass through saidopening of small cross section and in communication with the atmosphere through said vent opening which prevents the formation of a siphon.

2. Arwater level indicator for internal combustion engines having a water jacket comprising an elongated upright body memher having an opening extending inwardly the opening, the slot extending a part way onlyof the opening, a tubular gaugev glass in the opening, means for holding the glass in the opening and for forming a seal between the ends of the tubeand the ends of the opening, the upper end ofthe body member hav-o ing a small opening that communicates with the interior of the gauge glass, an overflow it pipe in communication with the small open-' ing, said member havinga vent for connecting the small opening with the atmosphere whereby a siphon action is prevented, and a tubular member extending from the lower end of the gauge glass to the interior of the water jacket ofthe engine.

3. A water level indicator comprising,'in

combination, an elongated upright" body member havingan opening extending in- I wardly from its'lowe'r end,lthe upper end of the opening being closed, a gauge glass in I o the opening, means for connecting .the lower, end of the gauge glassto a liquid container,

the closed upper end of? the elongated member having a restricted opening in communication with the opening in which the gauge 7 glass is located and which forms a choke.'an overflow pipe, the restricted o ening having one end in communication with the overflow pipe,"the body member having a vent opening that communicates withthe restricted opening where it joins the overflow pipe, whereby the choke is located between the vent and the upper end of the gauge glass.

- 4. A water level indicator adapted to indicate the levelof water in the container of a cooling system operating under atmospheric pressure and subjected to violent periodic disturbances or surges, comprising a gauge glass whose lower end is located below the lower limit of the water level, a conduit connecting the lower end of the gauge glass with the container, the upper end of the gauge glass extending above the upper limit of the water level. an overflow pipe in communication with the upper end of the gauge glass [through a restricted opening which forms a choke, there being a vent opening atthe point where the restricted choke opening communicates with the overflow pipe.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

' GEORGE B. HAYES. DANIEL' L. MA LLOY. 

